Spacecraft
There are three kinds of spacecraft;
artificial satellites, unmanned probes and manned spacecraft.
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Spacecraft
- all spacecraft double hulls – outer coverings for protection against other space objects that crash into them.
- manned spacecraft must also provide air pressure to prevent the crew’s blood from boiling.
- spacecraft windows have filters t shield astronauts from the Sun’s dangerous ultraviolet rays.
- radiator on the outside of the spacecraft lose excess heat from electrical equipment and crew’s bodies.
- manned spacecraft have life-support systems that provide oxygen to breathe – usually mixed with nitrogen (as in ordinary air).
- carbon dioxide from crew breathes out is absorbed by zeolite or lithium hydroxide.
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Living in Spacecraft
- astronauts or cosmonauts would float when asleep if they were not strapped down in a sleeping bag.
- astronauts or cosmonauts use a waterproof shower that sprays water from all sides and then removes the waste water.
- spacecraft toilets needs to get rid of waste in low gravity conditions; they have to sit on a device that sucks away the waste – solid waste is dried and returned to Earth.
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Did you know?
- NASA’s Space Shuttle – the first reuseable spacecraft has made regular manned space flights into orbits and back to Earth.
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